Cowboys' Jones sees a contender in the making

By Tom Orsborn |
October 16, 2012
| Updated: October 16, 2012 9:18pm

Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, left, is one of the Cowboys who is under scrutiny for his contributions to the team's litany of mistakes against the Ravens.

DALLAS - Buoyed by his team's performance in a 31-29 loss to Baltimore, Jerry Jones believes the Dallas Cowboys are "evolving" into a championship contender.

The eyebrow-raising comment, which is sure to draw laughter from many corners, came during his twice-weekly radio show on KRLD-FM.

"We've got to have some wins to make sure we're in the hunt," the Cowboys owner said Tuesday. "But I keep pointing out we're fresh off a world champion (the New York Giants) that won nine of 16 games last year.

"We know you want your team as healthy and as in sync as it can be as we get on into the end of the season. We know we've played one division game and won it. We've got those guys, the Giants, coming back in here (Oct. 28). We know that's going to be a big game for us, and all of those things give us a chance to take a team that is evolving into, if you look at the pluses (Sunday), a team that can compete for the championship, not next year, this year."

He said what?

Asked to clarify if he believes the Cowboys (2-3) can win a title this season, Jones said, "Correct. Let me emphasize that. I'm not into everybody getting better or learning for years to come. It's this year."

Heading into this weekend's game at Carolina (1-4), the Cowboys are last in the NFC East, trailing the Giants (4-2), Philadelphia (3-3) and Washington (3-3).

And dating to last season, Dallas has lost seven of its last 10, including two in a row.

But Jones is optimistic after watching his team go toe-to-toe with the Ravens (5-1).

"It's terribly disappointing (to lose), but we played physically," Jones said. "We did things we can win with in the future."

But the Cowboys also did plenty of things that indicate more losses are looming, starting with 13 penalties. Dallas also fell victim late in the game to Jason Garrett's bungled clock management and a lack of hustle by veteran wideouts Miles Austin and Kevin Ogletree.

Asked about those errors, Jones said, "We shouldn't be learning on our dime. We should have it down, frankly. We've got too much at stake to be having any teaching sessions."

Flag football

Dallas leads the league in penalties per game after getting flagged 13 times in three of its five outings.

Twice in Baltimore, the Cowboys had to settle for field goals after Ogletree was flagged for illegal shifts in the red zone.

Ogletree isn't the only member of the offense guilty of sloppy play. Tackles Tyron Smith and Doug Free lead the NFL in penalties with eight flags each.

Garrett said he's tried to solve the problem with videos, anecdotes and statistics. On Monday, he even threatened to take harsh action against repeat offenders.

"You certainly have the option of saying, 'OK, if you continue to get penalized like this, you're going to be out of the lineup, or you're going to be off the football team,' " he said.

Such tough talk might get the attention of Ogletree, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the opener but in the four games since has only nine catches for 107 yards and no TDs. But it's doubtful Garrett would take any punitive action against Smith and Free because of the club's financial commitment to the pair and a lack of depth at tackle.